Gutsy 2nd XV see off the league leaders

'GUTSY' was Rob Box's apt description of the Guernsey 2nd XV's last-ditch victory over Beeches which makes them favourites to top the ladder. As was expected from the top of the table JRA/Emer-aude League clash at Foote's Lane, it was a hard-fought battle throughout with never more than a converted score separating the teams and finally being resolved by Ken Dickson's try three minutes from the end.

Box was understandably delighted and relieved with the outcome.

'It was a very gutsy display - the guys really had to dig deep,' he said.

'We always knew Beeches were going to be a hard side to beat because you do not get to the top of the league without being a decent side.

'They had a big pack and we had a lot of players out of position and I also had to pull in a couple of veterans to help out. But, in both the first and second teams, we seem to be digging deep and winning these games where we normally lost them in the past. The team spirit is really good at the moment.'

The match had started promisingly for the home side as they gained good position early on and forced a second-minute penalty, but Carl Gardner's kick dipped underneath the crossbar.

Despite the Sarnians continuing to have the territorial advantage, it was the visitors who opened the scoring.

The big and powerful Andy Dawson made a tremendous break from halfway and got to within five metres of scoring himself before Mark Stone managed to pull him down. However, Brett Ireland was on hand for Beeches to score and Peter Stockley's conversion attempt was unsuccessful.

Guernsey, though, were behind only for five minutes.

The green-and-white pack did well to rumble through a few phases and gradually work their way to towards the line before feeding fly-half Chris Eyton-Jones, who broke through to score from 10 metres.

Gardner converted to put the Sarnians 7-5 ahead.

Just before the break, they extended their advantage to seven points with a fine opportunist try from Stone who touched down in the corner following a sly grubber kick through.

After the turnaround, it continued to be an enthralling encounter despite the lack of scoring opportunities.

But Beeches determination to get back into the game was finally rewarded 10 minutes from time when they utilised an overlap to send fullback Ben Tipper through on the right wing and he finished beneath the posts to allow Stockley to level the scores.

That set up a frantic finale with Guernsey, urged on by a large crowd, piling on the pressure before finally picking up the deciding score.

A five-metre scrum was worked on the blind side and with Beeches attempting to bundle the green-and-whites out of play, Dickson grabbed a loose ball and barged over.

'It was a great result and it was good to have a big crowd down there to see it,' said Box, who added that the performance epitomised the atmosphere at the Guernsey Rugby Club.

'Everyone wants everyone else to do well, which is fantastic.

'Everyone just seemed to muck in and give support to the others.'

Meanwhile, in Jersey, St Jacques were on the wrong end of a 50-15 defeat to the Jersey 2nd XV, who stalwart Stef Bampton described as 'the strongest side we have played this season'. Andy Ingrouille and Matt Chammings were the try-scorers for Guernsey's all-blacks.